Let’s see how former Eagles did in Week 1

Week 1 of an NFL season is always very interesting. All the chatter from the offseason goes away and any sort of potential is finally tested on game day. That was in full affect this past weekend, including a lot of interesting bits from former Eagles around the league.

It wasn’t just Philly alumni on the field either, with four former Eagles coaches now with the head coach title. Sunday saw both Shane Steichen (Colts) and Jonathan Gannon (Cardinals) take on their new roles in their first regular season game, and both came away 0-1.

Here’s how some of the former Eagles did around the league in Week 1:

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Ravens beat Texans, 25-9

One of the Week 1 matchups with the most former Eagles suiting up was the Houston Texans (Steven Nelson, Hassan Ridgeway, Ty Zentner) versus the Baltimore Ravens (Nelson Agholor, Ronald Darby, Kevon Seymour).

Despite being a starter and getting 24 offensive snaps, Nelson Agholor didn’t get a single target in his first regular season with the Ravens. Similarly, Kevon Seymour only saw special teams snaps and didn’t record a single tackle. On defense, however, Ronald Darby had a productive game with seven total tackles, including one for loss, and one pass breakup.

Former Eagles on the Texans weren’t all that much more impactful, save for cornerback Steven Nelson.

Other than Nelson, punter Cameron Johnston was placed on IR ahead of the season after pulling a calf muscle during training camp, so the Texans went with another former Eagles punter, Ty Zentner. The rookie had four punts on Sunday for 176 yards, averaging 44 yards per punt. Johnston isn’t the only former Eagle in Houston dealing with a calf injury, Hassan Ridgeway left Sunday’s game with one and didn’t return. The DT recorded two tackles and half a sack before leaving the field.

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Two former Eagles scored TDs for the Dolphins

The Dolphins ended up beating the Chargers in a crazy back-and-forth game, 36-34, and both Raheem Mostert and River Cracraft found their way into the endzones.

Mostert had 10 carries for 37 yards and a touchdown.

Cracraft, who has earned more time with the offense over the past year in Miami, had three catches for 40 yards and a touchdown.

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Head coaches corner

Doug Pederson (Jaguars): The Super Bowl-winning head coach is taking the momentum he built with Jacksonville and QB Trevor Lawrence in 2022 and running with it in 2023. The team saw big games by Calvin Ridley (8 catches, 101 yards, 1 TD) and Zay Jones (5 catches, 55 yards, 1 TD), plus impressive performances by Travis Etienne Jr. (18 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD) and Tank Bigsby (7 carries, 13 yards, 1 TD). It’s only Week 1, but things sure look promising for Pederson and Co. this season, who start 1-0 with a 31-21 win over the Colts.

Frank Reich (Panthers): It’s Reich’s first year in Carolina after being unceremoniously canned mid-season by Indianapolis, but he wasn’t able to capture a Week 1 win. Instead, the Panthers suffered a division loss to the Falcons, 10-24. The head coach was aggressive, and while it wasn’t always successful, proved that he’s not going to be timid despite how things in his previous gig ended.

• Running back Miles Sanders spent most of training camp and the preseason rehabbing an injury, but that didn’t slow him down once the regular season got underway. The former Eagles’ RB1 notched 72 yards on 18 carries Sunday, and showed that he’s going to be the featured back for the Panthers — full disclosure, Sanders also gave the ball up once, too.

Shane Steichen (Colts): It wasn’t exactly the best day for Steichen and his new team, who lost to Pederson and the Jags by 10 points, but it also wasn’t the worst. Rookie QB Anthony Richardson went 24-of-37 for 223 yards and 1 touchdown, with 1 interception, in the passing game, plus 40 rushing yards and another score on the ground. Steichen did have a bit of reality check when he tried to replicate Philly’s tush-push QB sneak that ultimately was stopped and created a turnover on downs. (It was a good try, but not every QB can squat 600 pounds like Jalen Hurts.)

Jonathan Gannon (Cardinals): As much fun as it is to watch Washington lose, it was equally as satisfying watching the Commanders beat Gannon and the Cardinals. There’s been no shortage of storylines regarding the former Eagles DC since he left the team after the Super Bowl, but now we can focus on his on-field product... which was undisciplined and ineffective.

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Let’s dive into the Cardinals loss a little

Gannon wasn’t shy about signing many of the Eagles free agents coming off the 2022 season — Andre Chachere [PS elevation], Zach Pascal, Kyzir White —, plus 2023 roster cut K’Von Wallace.

One guy with the Cardinals who is always worth rooting for is Zach Ertz who was able to get back on the field Week 1 after tearing his ACL and MCL in Week 10 of the 2022 season. The tight end got right back to work, pulling in 6-of-10 targets for 21 yards. WR Zach Pascal had just one target but no catches, and one tackle, in Arizona’s 16-20 loss.

On defense, unsurprisingly, the two biggest producers were guys Gannon coached in Philly last year. K’Von Wallace finished the day with seven total tackles and two defended passes. Kyzir White topped that a bit, recording nine total tackles... including one very clear cheap shot.

For the Commanders, safety Jeremy Reaves had three total tackles against the Cardinals, and DE Casey Toohill had three of his own, including 1.5 stuffs.

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Javon Hargrave is earning his paycheck

The defensive lineman showed early that the 49ers were right to pay him, netting five pressures and a sack in Week 1.

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Injuries, Inactives, and Other Notables

• There were a couple guys elevated from the practice squad in Week 1, including SAF Andre Chachere (Cardinals), and CB Daryl Worley (Ravens).
• WR Mack Hollins beat out WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside for a roster spot with the Falcons this season, and after being a top performer for the Dolphins and Raiders since leaving Philly, Hollins opened the 2023 season with three catches for 31 yards.
• Andre Dillard is starting at left tackle for the Titans. He took 100 percent of the offensive snaps in the team’s loss to the Saints.
• Three former Eagles safeties had good showings with their new teams, including C.J. Gardner-Johnson (Lions) recording five total tackles and two pass breakups, Marcus Epps (Raiders) with five total tackles, and Rodney McLeod (Browns) who had four total tackles.
• Linebacker has rarely been Philly’s strong suit, but those guys tend to go elsewhere and perform... like they did in Week 1. T.J. Edwards (Bears) made 14 tackles, and Alex Singleton (Broncos) claimed eight total tackles and half a stuff. Jordan Hicks had a bit of a decline with only three tackles for the Vikings, but that whole team looked out of sorts in their loss to the Buccaneers.
• Three Philly alumni reunited on Green Bay’s defense, and in their big win over the Bears, CB Rasul Douglas had eight total tackles and a fumble recovery, safety Rudy Ford had four tackles, and LB Eric Wilson made three tackles in Week 1.

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